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What we know and don’t know about the scandal at St. Michael’s College School — and what we can’t report

One of Toronto’s most prestigious private schools has been rocked by the arrests of several students in a scandal that began after video showing a graphic alleged sexual assault in a locker room was shared on social media last month.

On Wednesday, police announced a seventh boy has been charged in connection with the ongoing Toronto police investigation into assaults and sex assaults at St. Michael’s College School.

The campus of St. Michael’s College School on Monday. Six teen boys have been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault at the all-boys private school. Police are investigating at least five other incidents at the school. (Tijana Martin / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Here’s what we know, what we don’t know and what we can’t report about the growing scandal at St. Mike’s.

This Star will continue to update this file as the story develops.

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Last updated: Dec. 19, 2018

WHAT WE KNOW

That police investigated a total of eight incidents in connection with the all-boys school, and have laid charges in three: Those incidents are: an alleged assault with a weapon on Sept. 18; an alleged sex assault with an object on Oct. 17; and a second alleged sex assault with an object on Nov. 7.

The Nov. 7 incident is the alleged locker room sex assault that was captured on cellphone video and shared on social media last month, sparking the spiralling scandal at the school.

Toronto police have closed investigations into five other incidents at the school, Insp. Domenic Sinopoli told reporters at police headquarters Wednesday.

In total, police had identified about 80 witnesses and conducted about 60 interviews in their investigation.

That a total of seven boys, all young teens, have been arrested and are facing various assault and sex assault charges: On Nov. 19, six boys were arrested and charged with assault, gang sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon in relation to the Nov. 7 incident. They were released on bail last month.

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On Wednesday, police announced four of those boys were again arrested and charged with assault, gang sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon over the Oct. 17 incident. A 15-year-old boy who was was not among those earlier charged was also arrested the same day on the same charges.

Two of that group of four boys were separately charged with assault and assault with a weapon over the Sept. 18 incident.

All of the boys who were charged Wednesday were released on bail later the same day.

How many victims there are: Sinopoli told reporters Wednesday the two alleged sexual assaults did not involve the same victim.

Police spokesperson Meaghan Gray later said there were a total of two victims in the three incidents in which boys have been charged.

That police say the charges all involve members of the school’s football team.

The contents of the Nov. 7 locker room video: The 22-second video, which has been viewed by the Star, shows a teen boy being held down by a group of boys while he is allegedly sexually assaulted with what appears to be a broomstick.

The Star does not possess this video.

That police consider the video child pornography: Sinopoli said Wednesday police are still “actively investigating” the fact that the original alleged locker room sexual assault was both filmed and distributed.

Police will aggressively prosecute anyone caught sharing the video, he said, adding: “You will be caught and you will be charged.”

That the Oct. 17 incident may also have been captured on video: Sinopoli told reporters Wednesday that the Oct. 17 sex assault “may have been videotaped,” but that police don’t have that footage.

That incident, he said, was similar in nature to the alleged Nov. 7 sex assault, and also happened in a locker room.

That police say there’s no evidence St. Mike’s principal Greg Reeves or any coaches or faculty at the school knew about the alleged assault or sexual assault: “After a thorough investigation we do not believe we have grounds to lay charges against the principal Greg Reeves in relation to his duty to report under the Child Youth and Family Services Act,” Sinopoli said Wednesday.

“The same would apply to the faculty and or any of the coaching staff,” he added. “Unless something comes to us in the future there will be no charges in relation to the adults.”

That police say there is no evidence of a systemic problem at St. Mike’s: Sinopoli said there’s no evidence or complaints to suggest this “behaviour extended outside of this school year or involved anyone outside of this small group of students.”

Police have also not received any reports of “historical physical or sexual abuse,” he said.

When St. Mike’s says it first learned of the incidents: According to a detailed timeline released by the school last month, administrators said they first received a video of a separate incident in a school washroom on the morning of Nov. 12, and the locker room video later that evening.

When St. Mike’s says it first contacted police about the incidents: According to the school’s timeline, St. Mike’s told police about the washroom video on Nov. 12, the day it was received, and the locker room video on Nov. 14, more than a day after it was received, “upon completion of its internal investigation.”

In his November interview with the Star, Reeves said he turned the locker room video over to police around 11 a.m. on Nov. 14. According to police, media had by that point already contacted police about the video.

Why St. Mike’s says it took a day to contact police over the locker room video: According to its timeline, the school told police about the video after: “identifying, notifying and interviewing all students involved and their parents”; informing faculty and staff; notifying families involved “that police will be contacted”; expelling four students and completing its internal investigation.

“My whole decision-making process went around the protection of the victim,” Reeves told the Star.

Why and when police say they got involved: Sinopoli told reporters in November that Reeves called police on Nov. 12 — the day the school says it received both the washroom and locker room videos — “seeking advice about a hazing incident.” Sinopoli said Reeves was advised on how the student could engage police services and no further action was taken.

St. Michael's College principal Greg Reeves speaks to reporters at a Monday news conference. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

On Nov. 14, an officer went to St. Mike’s after the police communications team received information that there were “a number of expulsions” taking place at the school, Sinopoli told a November news conference.

Before the officer arrived, the police media team received “further information from the media indicating that the expulsions were in relation to a sexual assault involving an object,” Sinopoli said.

When asked by reporters whether the school should have immediately contacted police about the locker room video, Sinopoli replied, “yes.”

That the school has expelled at least eight students and suspended one: According to St. Mike’s timeline, which was released before the arrests, the school expelled four students and suspended one over the washroom video and expelled four students over the locker room video.

It is unclear if the school has since expelled or suspended any more students.

Asked Wednesday if the seventh charged student had been expelled, St. Mike’s spokesperson Lianne Castelino said she could not say: “We do not have that information at this time and as such are not able to comment on that as it is part of the police investigation,” she wrote in an email.

What St. Mike’s says it is doing to address the incidents: Reeves and school president Father Jefferson Thompson resigned on Nov. 22.

Until the school can find permanent replacements, two vice-principals will serve as acting co-principals and an interim president — a former student — will be brought in from Edmonton, the school announced.

The review will “examine the traditions, rituals, and social practices of students at every grade level and in all areas of school life,” and will issue recommendations that will be implemented in the 2019-2020 academic year, the school said in a news release.

The review will be chaired by Mark Sandler, a lawyer experienced in systemic reviews of this nature. And it will include Debra J. Pepler, a psychology professor at York University who researches aggression, bullying, and victimization involving children and adolescents; Bruce Rodrigues, a former Ontario Deputy Minister of Education; and Priti Sachdeva, former legal counsel at the province’s Office of the Children’s Lawyer, which represents children in court cases.

In its timeline, the school said it had taken several other steps to address the incidents, including: reaching out to support alleged victims; bringing in crisis counsellors for students, staff and faculty; holding assemblies for students; bringing in security to address threats to the school; meeting with parents and members of the junior football team; and holding information meetings with parents.

The school is also hiring a permanent social worker and has set up an anonymous voice mail tip line for students to report concerns.

School officials have also cancelled the varsity basketball season for this school year and the junior and varsity football seasons for the 2019-2020 academic year.

How St. Mike’s alumni are responding: Some alumni have been supportive of school leadership and many have spoken about how the incident does not reflect the school they know and love. According to sources, principal Reeves received a standing ovation at a mid-November alumni meeting when he spoke about how his focus was on the victim and the school’s students. Others at that meeting criticized the media’s coverage and urged the community to deal with the response internally.

But that positive response has not been universal. At that same meeting, according to sources, one man called out a failure of leadership. Another said he was reconsidering sending his young son too the school and called for Reeves’ resignation, eliciting some applause.

Author and alumnus Mike MacDonald called out the school’s culture in an op-ed, saying “its outdated, toxic idea of what it is to be a man” must change.

At the meeting, Reeves urged alumni to make themselves available to talk to students.

That police say they are not currently investigating similar incidents at any other schools.

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW

We don’t know how long the washroom and locker room videos were circulating on social media, nor how many people have seen them.

We don’t know whether the boys who were charged in relation to the locker room video have all been expelled or suspended by the school: In its timeline, which was released before the boys were arrested, St. Mike’s said it had expelled four students over the locker room video — but six were later arrested over it.

It is unclear if any of the six arrested boys were among the four who were earlier expelled over the washroom video.

It’s also unclear if the seventh boy charged Wednesday has been expelled.

WHAT WE CAN’T REPORT

We can’t report the identities of the boys allegedly involved the three incidents: The identities of the alleged victims and the seven boys who were charged in relation to the three incidents are all protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which prevents the Star from reporting any details about the boys or the events that could identify them.

We can’t report several details about incidents that are covered by a separate publication ban:The Star is also bound to a publication ban that prohibits reporting any information introduced in court during the boys’ bail hearings last month and Wednesday.

With files from Isabel Teotonio and Alyshah Hasham

May Warren is a breaking news reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @maywarren11

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